Antonio Silva is on a troubling career trajectory, and there’s no one who can stop him – MMAjunkie.com

Heres what Antonio Silvas career looks like over the past two years: Win (TKO), loss (TKO), loss (KO), loss (KO), loss (decision), loss (KO).

Hes been stopped by strikes in seven of his past 10 bouts. He has just two victories since 2012 one over Soa Palelei, and one over Alistair Overeem, who was beating him soundly until a sudden third-round comeback by Silva.

If you do some combat sports math on the 37-year-old Bigfoot, what you see is a fighter on a dangerous trajectory. That path took him out of the UFC and into two fights for smaller Russian promotions, both of which he lost. His last knockout loss was two months ago.

So why did Silva (19-12-1 MMA)just sign on for a kickboxing bout against GLORY heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven (51-10-1 kickboxing)in China this October?

Obviously, its not a good fight for Bigfoot, Silvas longtime manager Alex Davis told MMAjunkie. Jumping right into (GLORY) to go against the current champ, whos a murderer? Yeah, we get it.

But Silvas doing it anyway, and for reasons that are as old as the fight game.

For one, he thinks he can win. According to Davis, Bigfoot is back on testosterone-replacement therapy, which he used somewhat controversially for a time in the UFC, before the practice was effectively banned.

Now, fighting in places like Russia and China, and for organizations whose anti-doping policies are notably less stringent, hes free to resume the use of synthetic testosterone, which makes a huge difference for him, Davis said.

And also he needs money, Davis said. He cant turn down fights at the moment for that reason. If it was up to me, he would not take this fight. But at the end of the day, my job is to inform him, give him my advice, and the one who has to make the final decision is him.

Here we get into a persistent problem for fighters and fight sports. No one can tell Silva to stop. They can suggest and argue and recommend. Promoters can cut him and trainers could refuse to train him. Even Davis, a longtime friend, could stop managing him.

But as long as Silva can find someone willing to pay for his name and his willingness to walk face-first into someone elses fists, he gets to keep going.

It was the same with Gary Goodridge, another MMA fighter who turned to kickboxing later in his career. He lost about twice as many kickboxing bouts as he won, but his appeal for promoters was that, when you booked Big Daddy, you knew someone would get knocked out even if the someone was usually him.

For Goodridge, those years of damage contributed to brain trauma that eventually left him unable to remember conversations moments after theyd ended. By the evening, he couldnt tell you what hed done during the afternoon.

But Goodridge also needed the money. Even when he knew he shouldnt fight anymore, he was a man in his forties with no real work history outside of cages and rings. What else was he supposed to do?

According to Davis, Silvas brain health has been closely monitored with testing done at the Cleveland Clinics Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.

Physically, Bigfoot has no problems whatsoever, Davis said. He has no brain damage. Weve done extensive research and testing, even before he left the UFC. So hes OK on that end.

But then, some signs of degenerative brain diseases like CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), which researchers have found in the brains of deceased fighters and football players, are sometimes not apparent until years after the actual trauma.

And clearly, Silva is doing himself no favors. He went less than five months between knockout losses in 2016. Youd have to go back to 2010 to find a single calendar year in which he didnt suffer at least one knockout.

This fight against Verhoeven doesnt promise to be any easier on his brain. Verhoeven is younger, faster, and riding a winning streak thats about as good as Silvas losing streak is bad. If anything, the kickboxing rules will likely only lead to Silva absorbing more punishment than he would in an MMA bout. And then what?

Soon the paycheck will be spent and Silva will face the same questions about his future that he faces now. So far, he only seems to know one answer.

Ill be very sincere and tell you, I cant defend a man from himself, Davis said. If he fights and doesnt manage his money, hell go looking for the next fight. This is a very common problem with many fighters, not just Bigfoot. Thats what creates situations like Gary Goodridge.

As for Goodridge, he also had people telling him he should stop. Then he had people telling him that there was something troubling happening to him. The damage sneaks up on you, he said later. When he finally realized the full extent of it, it was too late to stop it.

I had no idea it was coming, Goodridge said in 2012. You dont know. Everyone around you tells you its happening, but you dont notice it yourself.

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Antonio Silva is on a troubling career trajectory, and there's no one who can stop him - MMAjunkie.com